Improvement in ploughs



wiLLiiMgn. HARDIN, or BOWLING GREEN, MISSOURI.

Letters Patent No. 75,901, dated lllarch 24, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN rLoUeus.

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TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CQNCERN: V

Be it known that I, WILLIAM E. HARDIN, of Bowling Green, in the county of Pike, and State of Missouri, havefinvented a' new and useful Improvement in Gang-Plonghs and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and clear description thereof, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon. i v

This invention relates, rstly, to the mode of attaching the draught to the ploughs, which is done directly to the heam,-and also to the method of attaching the beam to the vehicle or carriage upon which it is drawn. The result of these arrangements and combinations is to cause the ploughs to run steadily in the ground, unin- 4d ucnced bythe undulations of the ground whichis being cultivated. The second feature of the invention relates to a. self-acting lift, used forthe purpose ofraising theploughs out of the ground, when it is required, without the aid of manual labor applied to that purpose. The invention relates, thirdly, to an improved construction of the axle, and, fourthly, tothe construction ofthe plough-beam,

:To enable those skilled in`the art A'co make and use my improved gang-ploughs, I will proceed to describe their construction and operations. d l

Figure 1 of the drawings is -a side elevation of the improved plough.

Figure 2 is a plan of the same.

Figure 3 isa rear end elevation.

Figure 4 is an elevation of the axle, showing only one end of it.

Figure 5 is a plan of the beam. i

As is usual with gang-ploughs, there are two wheels, A A, connected together by the axle A, which serves as 'a support for the back end of .thetongue B, and the drivers seat, S, which maybe shifted forward or backward, as maybe required to properly balance the machine. The forward end vof the plough-beam C is arranged to slide up and down in the stand c,` which is attached to the lower side of the tongue in front of the axle, and is provided with a clevis, c1, to which the power or team is directly hitched, thus securing a direct line of traction between'the breasts of the animals drawing the machine, and the ploughs C. By this arrangement the ploughs'will be enabled to run smoothly and steadily in the ground, without being raised up out of the same, by means of the wheels running over undulations or hillocks on the surface of the field.

` The top end of thestand c has a washer, c2, which rests against the table c3, secured .to the bottom side of the tongue. The upper end of the said stand e is formed into a round bolt, which passes up through the tongue,

and, is secured in position therein by means of a nut screwed on above the tongue. YThe plough-beam, stand c, and its washer c, swingaround, laterally, on this rounded bolt, as upon a hing-bolt or pivot. Two links, c, one oneach side of the-beam, connect it lwith the stand c, so as to allow it to play up and 'dowm'but at the same time so as to prevent. it from being drawn laterally out of said stand. A lever, c, placed immediately in front of the drivers seat, and resting on its fulcrum, c6, erected upon the tongue, is connectedwith the forward end of the plough-beam by the rod Ac7 in such amanner that the driver may atdiscretion raise or lower the front end of the beam, and soregulate the depth of the furrows.

The self-acting lift, by means ofA which the ploughs'are raised up out of the ground, is constructed and operated as follows: A segmental bar, D, is connected with its hub, d,.eccentrically, by means ofthe arms d. The

hub d is attached to the back end of the plough-beam in such a manner that it may berevolved around its axis in`a fore and aft direction. An'arm or rod, Dl, is pivoted at x to the shorter one ofthe arms, d1, and the upper or forward end of the said arm or rod, D, has an elbow, vwhich is perforated at d2, so that, by means of said perforation, it may be hooked on to the top end of the hooked rod D2, and by this means hold the lifterD ell in its properposition while the plonghs are down in the ground. The hooked rod :D2 is pivoted to the beam C at w', and it should be provided with a spring at some convenient position near the said point x', so as to throw it forward and enable it to hook on top of thesegmcntal bar d3., when it is raised up. When the driver wishes to raise up the ploughs while they are still in the furrow, he will disengagc the rod Dl from the top end of the `hooked rod D, and allowit to drop down,'lthe chain d* preventingit from falling too far. The act of disengag ing the rod l)1 from its upper fastening will allow the segmented bar D'Jto fall on the ground, and its longer-arm being forward, 'as is shown in fig. 1, it'will, by means of its friction on the, ground, be compelled to roll over, and when it reaches the position shown by thev dotted lines in iig. 1, it will have raised the ploughs up out of theI ground, and the moment they are up high enough to allow the catch or 'hooked rod Dz to do so, it will catch on top of the bar cl3, and retain them in that position until the driver is readyto throw them down, which hewill do by simply pushingl the rod D2 back so as to disengage it from the bar d3. While` the lifter D dI is up in the position shown by the dottedlines in fig. -l, the perforation clzlis replaced upon the top end of 'the rod D, preparatory to another lifting-operation.

As it is intended to use this plough either as a gang-plough or as a subsoiler, it becomes necessary to censtruct thc axle A and the beam C in such a manner as to render the machine-readily adjustable te-tbe purpose to which it is to be applied. With regard to the axle, this is accomplished by -having the arms a of metal, and having a-n upper and lower socket in each, for the reception of the wooden axle A', which is to be formed of two pieces, onevto he placed on each side of the arm-pieces, and bolted 'through by means of the belt a', as is clearly shown in fig. el.` By this arrangement the axle can be raised up or lowered down in either of the sockets, orat either end, as may be required to adapt either wheel to run in the furrow or on top ofthe ground.

With regard tothe alterations in the beam C, that will be required to fit it for different kinds of work, there willbe the addition of an extra side lug, c5, as is-shown in iig. 5. The ploughs C are to be attached to the side of the beam, or to one or both of the lugs es, as is clearly shown. By using the lug orvlugs c, only one ploughbeam is used, and the machine is thereby cheapen'ed and better adapted to its work than by using two beams, as is the usual practice. l I

Having described my'invention, what I claim, is

1. The lifter D all Dl D2, when constructed and operated as described and set forth.

2. The adjustable axle A. a, when constructed and employed in the manner shown and described.

In testimony of which invention, I hereunto set my hand; Y

' WM. E. BARBIN. Witnesses: Y

M. RANDeLiH,

Geo. I. HERTIIEL, Jr.,

H. PAULI. 

